ELECTRO-OPTICAL DEVICE, ELECTRONIC APPARATUS AND METHOD OF DETECTING INDICATING OBJECT

• US 20090073141A1
• Filed: 08/04/2008
• Published: 03/19/2009
• Est. Priority Date: 09/18/2007
• Status: Abandoned Application

• Current Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Original Assignee: Seiko Epson Corporation (Seiko Group)
• Inventors: CHINO, Taketo
• Application Number:
  US12/185,482
• Publication Number:
  US 20090073141A1
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 345/175
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/0412 Digitisers structurally integrated in a display
• CPC Class Codes: G06F 3/042 by opto-electronic means

Abstract

Provided is a device for driving first and second electrodes and an electro-optical element including a material having optical characteristics that vary with an applied voltage. The device includes: a driving unit which drives the electro-optical element between first and second driving states; a display unit which displays an image based on the optical characteristics of the electro-optical element; a pickup unit that outputs image data according to the amount of incident light; a first memory which fetches/stores the image data as reference image data; a second memory which fetches/stores the image data as target image data; a difference image data generating unit which generates difference image data from a difference between the reference and target image data; and a control unit which controls the write/read of the first and second memories such that the driving states corresponding to the reference image data and the target image data become equal.

Claims

1. An electro-optical device for driving an electro-optical element including a first electrode, a second electrode, and an electro-optical material provided between the first electrode and the second electrode, optical characteristics of the electro-optical material being changed according to an applied voltage, the device comprising:

a driving unit which drives the electro-optical element and switches a driving state of the electro-optical element in a predetermined cycle, between;

a first driving state in which a first fixed potential is applied to the first electrode and a data potential according to gradation to be displayed is applied to the second electrode; and

a second driving state in which a second fixed potential is applied to the first electrode and the data potential is applied to the second electrode;

a display unit which displays an image on a display screen on the basis of the optical characteristics of the electro-optical element according to the data potential;

a pickup unit which is provided on the display screen and outputs image data according to the amount of incident light;

a first memory which fetches a portion of the image data to be used as a reference of comparison, and stores the portion as reference image data;

a second memory which fetches a portion of the image data to be used as an object of comparison, and stores the portion as target image data;

a difference image data generating unit which generates a difference between the reference image data read from the first memory and the target image data read from the second memory as difference image data; and

a control unit which controls the write and the read of the first memory and the second memory such that

     1) the driving state of the electro-optical element corresponding to the reference image data read from the first memory and

     2) the driving state of the electro-optical element corresponding to the target image data read from the second memory become equal.

2. The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit:

stores the reference image data generated when the driving state of the electro-optical element is the first driving state and the reference image data generated when the driving state of the electro-optical element is the second driving state in the first memory,

stores the target image data in one of the first driving state or the second driving state in the second memory, and

reads the target image data in one of the driving states from the second memory, supplies the target image data to the difference image data generating unit, reads the reference image data corresponding to one of the driving states from the first memory, and supplies the reference image data to the difference image data generating unit.

3. The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit:

stores the reference image data generated in one of the first driving state or the second driving state in the first memory,

stores the target image data in one of the driving states in the second memory, and

reads the target image data in one of the driving states from the second memory, supplies the target image data to the difference image data generating unit, reads the reference image data corresponding to one of the driving states from the first memory, and supplies the reference image data to the difference image data generating unit.

4. The electro-optical device according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit which compares the difference image data with a predetermined level and determines whether an indicating object touches or approaches the display screen on the basis of the compared result.

5. The electro-optical device according to claim 1, further comprising a determination unit which compares the difference image data with feature data representing the feature of an indicating object and determines validity of the indicating object which approaches the display screen on the basis of the compared result.

6. The electro-optical device according to claim 1, wherein the driving unit switches the first driving state and the second driving states with a natural number multiple of a frame cycle or a field cycle as the predetermined cycle.

7. An electronic apparatus comprising the electro-optical device according to claim 1.

8. An indicating object detecting method of detecting image data of an indicating object which approaches a display screen using an pickup unit in an electro-optical device including an electro-optical element including a first electrode, a second electrode and an electro-optical material provided between the first electrode and the second electrode, optical characteristics of the electro-optical material being changed according to an applied voltage, a driving unit which drives the electro-optical element and switches a driving state of the electro-optical element in a predetermined cycle, between:

a first driving state in which a first fixed potential is applied to the first electrode and a data potential according to gradation to be displayed is applied to the second electrode; and

a second driving state in which a second fixed potential is applied to the first electrode and the data potential is applied to the second electrode, a display unit which displays an image on a display screen on the basis of the optical characteristics of the electro-optical element according to the data potential, and the pickup unit which is provided on the display screen and outputs image data according to the amount of incident light, the method comprising;

fetching the image data, which is a reference of comparison, as reference image data and storing the reference image data generated when the driving state of the electro-optical element is the first driving state and the reference image data generated when the driving state of the electro-optical element is the second driving state;

fetching the image data, which is an object of comparison, and storing target image data in one of the first driving state or the second driving state; and

reading the target image data in one of the driving states, reading the reference image data corresponding to one of the driving states, and generating a difference between the read reference image data and the read target image data as difference image data.

9. An indicating object detecting method of detecting image data of an indicating object which approaches a display screen using an pickup unit in an electro-optical device including an electro-optical element including a first electrode, a second electrode and an electro-optical material provided between the first electrode and the second electrode, optical characteristics of the electro-optical material being changed according to an applied voltage, a driving unit which drives the electro-optical element and switches a driving state of the electro-optical element in a predetermined cycle, between:

a first driving state in which a first fixed potential is applied to the first electrode and a data potential according to gradation to be displayed is applied to the second electrode; and

a second driving state in which a second fixed potential is applied to the first electrode and the data potential is applied to the second electrode, a display unit which displays an image on a display screen on the basis of the optical characteristics of the electro-optical element according to the data potential, and the pickup unit which is provided on the display screen and outputs image data according to the amount of incident light, the method comprising;

storing the image data, which is a reference of comparison, as reference image data in a state in which the driving state of the electro-optical element is one of the first driving state or the second driving state;

storing the image data, which is an object of comparison, as target image data in a state in which the driving state of the electro-optical element is one of the driving states; and

reading the target image data in one of the driving states, reading the reference image data corresponding to one of the driving states, and generating a difference between the read reference image data and the read target image data as difference image data.